Ultimate Fulfillment
by brohne
Summary: A new undercover assignment lands Taketora in the most unlikely of places. Getting through this operation will require all his skill and not a little ingenuity, but will he loose his innocence along the way?
1. Chapter 1

I stared at the sign in front the building, the neon glowing in the fading light. Well, this was it. The place Chiba had told me to try to get a job at. Supposedly there was some illegal activity going on behind the scenes including the exploitation of minors. So why did I have such a bad feeling? Maybe it was the name, Ultimate Fulfillment. Maybe it was the looks I was getting from all the women going in.

"Oh well, might as well get going." Not knowing what else to do I went inside. The interior was plush, lots of velvet and silk in soft colors, flowers and crystal adorning every available surface. Everywhere I looked there were women being waited on hand and foot by good looking guys dressed in tuxedoes. The valet spotted me and trotted over.

"You must be Shibata. Mr. Yamamoto is expecting you. Please follow me."

I followed him down a narrow hall wondering if the man who had recruited me had called ahead. The valet opened a door ushering me inside. The office was sparse, just a desk and a couple of chairs. The man behind the desk smiled at me. Pushing the set of thin rimmed glasses up his nose he stood and gave me a short bow. I responded, watching him closely.

"Good evening please take a seat. We have a few things to discuss."

I nodded and sat. The valet excused himself the door clicking shut behind him.

"Well I must say that my rep was right to pick you. I think you will fit right in with us here at Ultimate." He stood up walking around the desk and sat on the corner. "If you don't mind could you stand up and turn around for me."

I did as he asked hoping my disguise would fool him. I was getting better at it. The jeans were a pair that Kojiro had picked out and I'd made sure to spike my hair.

"So, Taketora-kun, why do you want to work for Ultimate?"

I watched him closely as I gave my practiced answer. It wasn't that far from the truth, at least what my life had been like before . . . before I'd met _him._ He nodded as he listened, one finger tapping his chin.

"You do realize that you are underage to work here."

"I was hoping you could make an exception. I never thought a place like this would recruit me, but your representative seemed positive you would hire me."

He nodded again a smile playing across his bland features. "Well, Taketora I would be more than happy to make an exception in your case. If you would like you could start right away."

He stood and coming over put his hand on my shoulder. A little dismayed by the overly familiar gesture I tried to smile up at him.

"We can never let good talent go to waste. I'll show you where you can go change."

He led me out of the office and down another hall. "Our goal here at Ultimate is to give women that thrill of being with a handsome young man who caters to her every whim, listens to her, and basically makes her feel like a queen. However there are a select few women with more discerning tastes." He glanced down at me and I wasn't sure if it was a smirk or a smile on his face. "You Taketora, with your looks, are going to be serving the latter. Today we will start with your training in proper etiquette when dealing with these women. They are all wealthy and will shower you with gifts when you please them, never turn them down no matter how lavish the gift may seem. You will have to work hard to please them though. Ah, here we are."

He opened the door for me. I was still trying to take in everything he'd said as I looked around the dressing room. There were a few other guys lounging around in various states of undress.

One of them near the back, who looked like a more refined version of Kojiro, stood and sauntered over. "Is this the new hire? Getting them younger and younger aren't you, Yamamoto."

I swatted his hand away as he tried to mess with my hair. "I'm not that young."

He laughed, "He even sounds like a kid." Cupping my chin in his hand he grinned down at me, "I bet Ms. Norita will pick you right away."

"Alright enough playing around." Mr. Yamamoto clapped his hands together. "Ioshi, I expect you to teach him well. Go ahead and find him something to wear and show him to the guest lounge."

"Yessir. Common shorty." He gestured for me to follow him. "I don't know if we have anything your size though."

I soon found myself dressed in a smart suit complete with shiny shoes. It had taken him a while to find something that didn't look ridiculously large on me. Looking around the room as I dressed I could see why. The rest of them were tall and athletic looking.

"Jeeze you've got tiny feet, like a girl's."

I ignored the remark. Living with Kojiro had taught me that much at least. He checked his watch.

"It's almost time for our gals to arrive." He cocked his head as he looked down at me. "You sure you're ready for this kiddo? Some of these women are really hard to please."

I nodded, "I'll do my best."

He grunted and held up three fingers. "Three things to remember. One, you do what they ask when they ask. Two, you don't ask questions or talk unless they want you to. Three, never ever refuse to do something for any reason."

It didn't seem like this job was going to be that difficult. All I had to do was just make sure the women were happy. At least I hoped it wasn't going to be difficult.

"You got that?" When I nodded he went on. "Alright, another thing. Most of these women are foreigners, investment bankers and CEO's wives, celebrities, that kind so don't expect them to know much of the language. Let's go, we need to be there early to greet them as they arrive."

As we walked I wondered what it was exactly the Chiba was wanting me to look for. I'd already established that they were hiring underage boys to work, but other than having them serve alcohol I hadn't seen any other violations yet. What else could be going on to warrant this investigation? Drug trafficking? Illegal gambling?

Ioshi opened a set of double doors and I blinked at the sheer opulence of the room. It was sectioned off into six different areas, each with low tables and couches. Pillows littered the couches and floor around each table. Each section was a different theme ranging from traditional Japanese to American punk and were separated by movable partitions. There were already several men working laying out the table service and arranging pillows. In the low light it was hard to distinguish their features, but some looked much too young to be working here.

"Help get ready. When it's time I'll find you."

He disappeared into the back and I turned to find myself face to chest with another one of the workers. He scowled down at me and I took an involuntary step back. He looked more like a yakuza thug than a host, complete with earrings and tattoos just visible over his collar.

"So, Mr. Yamamoto hired us another kid." Grabbing the front of my jacket he hauled me forward. "Just don't screw up newbie or I'll personally make sure to rearrange that cute little face of yours."

He let me go and stomped off. I stared after him for a moment wondering if he was someone I'd need to keep any eye on. Ioshi reappeared beside me.

"Don't worry about Shohei, he's all talk. If you're wondering why someone like him is here, well let's just say that some women like their men rough around the edges." He jerked his head toward the entrance at the far end of the room. "Time to go shine, kiddo."

Giving me a slight push he headed for the two large wooden doors that marked the entrance to the private rooms. I followed unsure what to expect. Ioshi directed me to stand next to him as the rest of the hosts took their places to either side of the door. It felt like inspection day at the academy the atmosphere was so tense. With a click, the doors swung outward.

Five women stood on the other side of the entrance. We all bowed deeply and Ioshi stepped forward to greet the women. He said something in English then repeated it for the rest of us.

"Good evening my beautiful ladies. We are at your service for the night, please enter and pick your hosts."

One of the women, a tall blonde immediately stepped forward and took Ioshi's arm. Her blue eyes scanned the rest of the group coming to rest on me. Apprehension immediately bubbled to the surface. She sauntered forward to stop in front of me, her arm still in Ioshi's.

"You, what is your name." She spoke perfect Japanese with a slight American accent.

I swallowed, "Shibata Taketora."

She smiled at me, "Such a long name for a boy. Come with me, Taketora."

I bowed and followed the two of them. She choose the section decorated in lavish modern furnishings.

"Close the curtains Ioshi and then please get us some refreshments. Taketora you come sit by me." She handed me her coat and sprawled on the tan couch.

Hanging up her coat, I went and sat down. She smiled at me.

"You don't have to sit so far away." She patted the cushion next to her. "Come."

Taking a deep breath I moved closer not sure if I should look at her or not. She laughed and ran a hand through my hair.

"You are quite adorable little Shibata. It's been a while since Yamamoto had someone like you here. Why don't you take your jacket off and get comfortable."

Remembering Ioshi's admonishment I removed the jacket and laid it out of the way. When I turned back around her face was only inches from mine. I tried not to flinch. She gave me a slow smile her eyes wandering down as she did so.

"You know what I find so stressful about work Taketora?"

"No ma'am."

"I work with women all day. Beautiful pampered brats." She sighed and leaning forward laid her head on my shoulder. "As the head of Narcissi, I have to keep all my models in top form. Yet it seems like I'm always fighting an uphill battle. You would think that beautiful women would be more concerned about their appearance and reputation. But, I am beset everyday with crisis after crisis. That is why I love to come here. Instead of pretty young spoilt girls I get to be with beautiful young men who spoil me."

I chill went down my spine as her fingers laced themselves in my tie, "You will spoil me won't you Taketora?"

"Yes ma'am." The words were barely out of my mouth before I found myself pinned back against the cushions.


	2. Chapter 2

Blinking at the face only inches from mine I tried to remain calm resisting the urge to shove her away. She lowered her head onto my chest, her hair smelling of lilac. A soft sob shaking her shoulders as she clung to me.

"They are going to kill me." Her voiced muffled by fabric. "I can't keep doing this. They will kill me."

"Ma'am, I'm not sure I understand what you are talking about."

She fisted her hands in my shirt, looking up at me. "The girls . . . the owner of the agency I manage, he's been making me give the girls uppers and- and I just can't do it anymore. It's killing them I know it is."

Stunned I listened to her admission wondering if this was the real reason Chiba had wanted me here, but the odds of this woman just happening to confess to me. I shook my head slightly wondering if something else was going on. I looked up at the screen slid back and Ioshi entered with a tray of refreshments. He gaze swept us and I suddenly realized what we must look like. She was still laying across me, her head buried in my shoulder. He gave me a smirk as he set the tray down.

"Ms. Norita, are you feeling alright." He asked gently.

She pushed away from me, dabbing at her eyes. "Yes, thank you Ioshi. Work has just been so difficult lately."

She gave me a small smile, but there was a warning in her eyes. I ducked my head sitting up straight and smoothing out the wrinkles in my shirt. For the next several hours Ioshi and I entertained several women that she had invited to join her. I was beginning to wonder why Ioshi had warned me about the women. They were all very polite and pleasant to be around.

I had my back to the screen pouring Ms. Norita some more tea, when I heard it open and Ioshi greet the person. I nearly spilt the tea as warm fingers played along the back of my neck.

"And who, pray tell is this delightful little creature." Her voice was husky and I shivered as she breathed into my ear. The heavy floral scent of her perfume was making me a little light headed. Setting the tea pot down, I turned to her bowing.

"I am Shibata Taketora, ma'am."

She laughed, "Amber darling, you really know how to pick them. He's new here isn't he?"

Ms. Norita nodded smiling. "Just started tonight in fact. He is a cutie isn't he and so well mannered. Ioshi's had it easy tonight with him around."

My cheeks were burning as I moved to clear the dirty dishes from the table. Ioshi winked at me.

"Go ahead and take those to the kitchen, Taketora and get some more tea and cakes."

I nodded thankful that he was letting me escape for the moment. Leaving the dirty dishes with the dishwasher I gathered up what I needed. On my way out I realized the rest of the sections where empty. Ours was the only one that still had guests. There were only a few of the other workers left to clean and tidy up. I didn't have my phone on me and there was no clock, but I knew it had to be getting very late. Taking a deep breath I balanced the tray and slid the screen open.

"There you are." I glanced around the small space. There were three women left. Ms. Norita, a Miss Brown and the newest arrival who's name I hadn't caught. Ioshi was gone.

"We sent Ioshi on an errand." Ms. Norita's smiled. "We would like some more tea please."

I nodded and setting the tray down poured each one of them a new cup. Setting around the small plates of cheese and fruit I looked at each of them in turn as they talked quietly. I had noticed that Ms. Norita only ate melon with brie and Miss Brown didn't seem to like grapes. I'd made each of them their own plates armed with this knowledge.

"Aren't you the observant one." I glanced up at the dark headed woman to see her smiling at me. "I don't know of anyone else here who would have notice such a small detail."

I shook my head, "I am here to make sure that you have a relaxing time. It's my job ma'am."

"Don't be so modest and call me Serena."

"Okay Serena." I stumbled a little over the foreign sounding name and her grin got wider.

"Come sit Taketora, you've been on your feet all evening. You must be exhausted since this is your first day."

I smiled at her as I moved to obey her request. "I'm alright. I'm used to being on my feet a lot."

I hadn't been a detective long enough to have forgotten what it felt like to be on patrol. Long hours spent walking up and down my beat or standing outside the station. No this was relatively easy in comparison. I could see why anyone would want to work here. The pay was good and the atmosphere was upscale and sophisticated. The work itself was easy.

Serena was still smiling as I took my seat and I realized that the other two had grown silent. Serena leaned forward picking up a small bite sized piece of melon.

"Here, open your mouth Taketora."

I reluctantly complied suddenly confused. The overwhelmingly sweet taste of the melon burst in my mouth.

"It's good isn't it."

I nodded swallowing, "Yes thank you."

The next thing I knew they were all three competing to see who could feed me what. They were giggling and generally making a fuss over me. It was disturbing. This was not something that Ioshi had mentioned, not in detail anyway. Ms. Norita gave me a cup of tea which I gratefully took, that last piece of cheese had tasted horrible. I downed it and started to set the cup back down when I noticed something odd. There was a residue in the bottom of the cup and the aftertaste of the tea was particularly bitter. I looked up to see the three of them watching me closely. Something about their manner made my skin crawl.

"Shall I go get something more for you?" I asked, starting to feel more than a little anxious.

"If you'd like please clear the table, we won't need any more refreshments tonight." Ms. Norita informed me.

I stood, quickly gathering the dishes. Where was Ioshi? Hadn't they said they'd sent him on an errand? Surely he should have been back by now. The kitchen was dark as I piled the dishes in the sink. I would wash them once the women had left. I turned to leave the kitchen and had to catch the doorframe as a wave of dizziness overwhelmed me. It struck me what that residue had been.

"Why would they do that?" I asked no one in particular as I staggered for the door that led to the changing room. They had drugged me that much was obvious. What wasn't obvious was their reason. One hand on the wall I took a few wobbly steps. I was quickly loosing feeling in my extremities, my vision blurring.

"Well that didn't take long Amber. Are you sure you didn't give him too much?"

I blinked, how had I ended up on the floor? All I could see was a pair of expensive looking high heeled shoes. My brain didn't want to work properly and it was difficult to keep my eyes open.

"He's not totally out of it yet. He's still fighting it. Go tell Ioshi we are ready." The click of heels against concrete faded for a bit then came back joined by heavier footsteps.

A hand felt my pulse then turned me over. I could just make out Ioshi leaning over me.

"He's out. How much did you give him?"

"Half the regular dose considering how small he is."

"That should be fine." Ioshi said as he dragged me into a sitting position. Dread filled me, I couldn't move, couldn't talk, couldn't do anything to protect myself. I should have been more careful. Kojiro was always telling me I trusted people too quickly. He just didn't understand that I found it easier to trust and be proved wrong than to never trust at all. Ioshi picked me up slinging me over his shoulder.

"Man, he doesn't weigh anything at all."

"He better look at least halfway decent Ioshi or you won't get your commission."

"Don't worry about that. Why do you think I picked him out? He might be small, but he's really well built, looks like he works out fairly regularly too."

I was horrified by their conversation trepidation clawing away at my stomach. It was getting harder and harder to understand what they were saying. I fought the blackness as long as I could but it won in the end.


	3. Chapter 3

**All characters are the property of their respective copyright holders.**

Soft light was filtering through the curtains. They would flutter every so often as a door opened. The smell of antiseptic pervaded the space along with the constant hum of a fan. I lay staring at the curtains watching the light steadily become brighter. Some part of me knew that I needed to get up, to assess the situation and find a way out. But it was faint, as faint as the quiet breathing next to me. I had nearly drifted back to sleep when I heard voices.

"You need to be more careful Ioshi. That last bout didn't go as planned. Do you know how much money I lost on that fight?"

"Don't worry about it Amber. We're drawing larger crowds than ever before by circulating pictures of the fighters." A soft laugh, "I never knew there were so many women interested in watching cage matches."

"Just make sure that tonight's match is properly fixed." The voices were overhead, but I couldn't get my eyes to focus long enough to see them.

"Don't worry about it. I'm putting in our newest fighter here as the challenger; he'll be overwhelmed and confused. An easy target for Shohei." Someone smoothed the hair back from my forehead. I tried to pull away from the touch only to realize that I still couldn't move. "He's cute enough that he'll have the crowd's sympathy but not their money."

"Those are the best kind of matches anyway." Amber's voice faded, "Just keep an eye on them."

"Yes ma'am."

A door opened and shut. I felt someone lean over me.

"Time to wake up."

There was a sting in my arm and a few moments later I could actually feel my body instead of that odd numbness. I blinked turning my head to see where I was. Ioshi was crouched down beside me.

"Welcome back Taketora. Your job description has changed a bit."

"Why? Why did you do this?" It was a struggle to talk.

Ioshi laughed, patting my shoulder. "Why does anyone do anything? For the money of course. Even you, you wanted the host job because it pays well. Am I right? That's all that people really care about after all."

I managed to get up on one elbow to look him in the eye. "That is not true."

"So why would a kid like you want to work at a host club, if not for the money?"

I looked away. "It's true that I need the money, but I also enjoy helping people."

He pushed me back down on the cot a smirk on his face. "You'll get over that soon enough. Now, just lay still for a bit. I have to go wake the others."

Sitting up I watched him. I was astonished to see that the room was filled with nearly twenty cots each with someone asleep on them. The quiet breathing I'd been hearing earlier had come from the boy to the right of me. He looked like he was probably still in high school. A faded bruise showed on one cheek and his hands were bandaged. His eyes were still closed, his breathing deep and regular.

Turning my attention back to Ioshi I watched as he made his rounds, talking quietly with each person. As soon as he was done talking with them they would get up and head out of the room. I went to try to get up and winced as metal bit into my ankle. Flinging back the cover I frowned at the shackle.

"You'll get it taken off if you don't try to run away."

I jumped looking around to see who had spoken. The boy next to me was awake, his dark eyes regarding me with a bit of pity and contempt.

"As long as you do what they ask and don't try to run, you'll be okay." He gave me a lopsided grin and turned his eyes up to the ceiling. "Disobey like me and you get more matches, less food and chained to the bed every night."

"Matches?"

He snorted. "You have no idea what you are in for. We haven't had someone new in ages, not since that last kid nearly died."

"There has to be something we can do."

He laughed sitting up to look at me. "What can us kids possibly do against adults? They are all part of the Yakuza, even if we did somehow escape they would just find us again."

I sighed looking down at my hands. This was much more serious than I'd ever imagined. We both looked up as the door opened again. Ioshi came forward and undid the cuffs on each of us.

"I'm sorry but neither of you will be getting breakfast. You can use the bathroom, then it's straight to training. Let's go."

I didn't miss the slim metal baton that swung at his side now.

I landed hard on the mat again, my head reeling from the blow.

"Come on shorty, you've got to give it more than that."

Wiping the blood from my chin, I got to my feet. "I'm not going to fight you."

"You will or I will really hurt you."

Backing away, I shook my head.

"I have no reason to want to fight you."

I ducked under a swing, circling warily. My jaw was throbbing from the last hit.

"Don't give me that shit."

A small crowd was gathering to watch us, most of them goading on my opponent.

"Come on Hideki, knock him out."

He sneered at me, "You'll get killed the first match you have with that attitude. Did Ioshi make a mistake and grab a girl this time instead? You better start fighting back or I just might break my promise to not mess up your face too bad."

I shook my head, never taking my eyes off of him. He narrowed his eyes, dropping his fists.

"Fine then," Stalking over to the group he grabbed another boy and shoved him forward. "He'll take your beating for you."

I darted forward, "No, you can't do that." Shoving him back I glared at him. "This isn't right, none of it-"

Hideki grabbed my arm and threw me to the mat again. I scrambled to get up but he was already over me. Seizing me by the front of my shirt he shook me.

"Just who do you think you are?"

The blow snapped my head to the side and left me a little breathless. That was when I saw it, the hands slowly enveloping Hideki. Grabbing his wrist, I twisted forcing him to let go. Shoving him back I got to my feet.

"You keep this up and you will die."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No. But I know that something bad will happen if you don't change what you are doing. You have at most a day."

A haunted look flashed in his eyes quickly replaced by anger. "I won't be intimidated that easily, Shibata. We'll see who dies."

Turning around he stalked off, shoving people out of his way. Taking a deep breath I gingerly felt my busted lip. I glanced over as someone walked up.

"You really rattled him you know that." It was the boy who had occupied the cot next to mine. He gave me a sad little smile, "I'm Hiro. Did you really mean what you said about him dying."

I nodded wincing a little as my head throbbed. "Yes, but I won't let it happen."

"I don't know why or how you plan on helping him, but his match tonight is with a pro mixed martial arts fighter. He was already really worked up about it. Well, come on we'd better go get you patched up."


End file.
